As the global thrust switches to the Indo-Pacific region, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal underlined the need for the business community to increase their focus on enhancing economic growth and trade in the region.
Goyal said that the Indo Pacific region is fast becoming the new economic epicentre.
Goyal, while delivering the keynote address at the CII's Special Plenary with the Trade Ministers in the Indo-Pacific region on "Developing a Road Map for Shared Prosperity" said that India's track record should give confidence to the countries that it will be their "natural" and "most reliable ally in years to come," ANI reported.
Also read: Rise of a budding Indo-Pacific community after Covid breathes fresh life into BIMSTEC
According to the ANI report, Goyal said that when "we talk of shared prosperity we must remember that shared prosperity is impossible without shared commitment".
Shakti Sinha director at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International told India Narrative that the global geopolitical contours are changing rapidly with China’s advancements and the changes in Afghanistan.
“India must keep its focus on boosting its economy and trade, especially now that it has pulled out of the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership),” Sinha said.
Importance of the countries dotted on the Indo Pacific region will only grow in the coming years.
Several other economic blocks such as the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) which come under the larger umbrella of the Indo Pacific ambit could also come back to life.
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The minister, who has just been given charge of the textile ministry, also said that amid the Covid 19 pandemic, the silver lining is that “a growing spirit of brotherhood” has evolved among nations to help each other, ANI reported.
Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2015, had articulated his vision for the Indo-Pacific in one word 'SAGAR' (Security And Growth of All in the Region).
He said that it must serve as the guiding principle for all nations in this region, as a secure and stable Indo-Pacific region equals peace and prosperity for all, the report said.
